Arcadia Farm Camp
Arcadia Farm at Woodlawn Estate, 9000 Richmond Hwy, Alexandria, VA 22309
About
Arcadia Farm Camp centers daily activities on farm and food experiences such as watering, harvesting, collecting eggs, planting seeds, tilling garden beds, weeding, and other farm chores. Campers take part in taste tests, menu designs, chef demos, and hands-on preparation of simple dishes and snacks, including making fresh salsa, making fresh pesto, preparing healthy snacks, and making recipes. The camp day also includes compost explorations, bug squishing, bug races, independent play, games led by counselors, table activities, and group or free play.
• Ages: 6–12 years old
• Schedule: Week-long sessions, each running from specific start and end dates between June 22 and July 24, with morning drop off between 7:50–8:05am and afternoon pick up between 2:30–3:00pm
Arcadia Farm Camp is guided by the principles of Farm Based Education, and each aspect of the camp is hands-on. Campers prepare snacks and experience a salad bar using produce they have washed and prepared from the farm, harvesting ingredient vegetables right from the farm and using seasonal vegetables from Arcadia Farm and other local farmer partners. Campers are placed into mixed-gender, age-appropriate groups, and the staff-to-camper ratio is about 1:5 each week. Campers should come with a morning snack and an optional bagged lunch, and breakfast is not provided.
Every Farm Camp staff member has been CPR certified and has prior education experience, and staff participate in extensive training specific to Farm Camp that covers outdoor education techniques, inquiry-based learning, facilitating an open learning environment based on choice and free play, conflict resolution, handling issues of heat and inclement weather, emergency procedures, and cooking with kids. The Farm Camp Director oversees development and coordination of the Farm Camp program, and a Farm Camp Manager is seasonally hired to manage Farm Camp, supported by 5 experienced staff members during all weeks of camp and 6 seasonally hired counselors. The broader leadership team includes an Executive Director, operations and farm managers, outreach and education staff, on-farm education staff, market and community farm managers, a volunteer coordinator, a farmer trainer, and a nutriments manager.
Arcadia was established in 2010 and is a nonprofit organization rooted in the National Capital Region. Its mission states that Arcadia cultivates vibrant regional food systems that build the health of land, food, and communities from the farm forward, is grounded in equity and guided by history, and works on sustainable, just, and regenerative solutions to food access and food sovereignty. Arcadia’s work includes Mobile Markets, a suburban farm, veteran farmer training, school and community garden support, and the Route 1 Community Farm, and every federal nutrition benefit at the Mobile Markets is doubled.
Arcadia’s Visiting Educators are partners from across Virginia and DC who conduct sessions with Farm Campers. Arcadia has a landmark partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation for the Woodlawn Estate site and supports school and community gardens while opening gates at the Route 1 Community Farm where low-income and military families can grow and harvest their own food for free. Arcadia is dedicated to achieving racial equity by dismantling systemic barriers, promoting inclusivity, addressing racial injustices, and working towards equal access to opportunities, resources, and social justice, and staff members serve as co-chairs of the Fairfax Food Council and its Urban Agriculture Working Group.
A Farm Camp parent described the experience by saying they were impressed with the organization, the level of enthusiasm of the counselors, the creativity of the program, and how engaged their child was with the camp, calling it a fabulous experience and a home run.
Last updated January 18, 2026.
• Ages: 6–12 years old
• Schedule: Week-long sessions, each running from specific start and end dates between June 22 and July 24, with morning drop off between 7:50–8:05am and afternoon pick up between 2:30–3:00pm
Arcadia Farm Camp is guided by the principles of Farm Based Education, and each aspect of the camp is hands-on. Campers prepare snacks and experience a salad bar using produce they have washed and prepared from the farm, harvesting ingredient vegetables right from the farm and using seasonal vegetables from Arcadia Farm and other local farmer partners. Campers are placed into mixed-gender, age-appropriate groups, and the staff-to-camper ratio is about 1:5 each week. Campers should come with a morning snack and an optional bagged lunch, and breakfast is not provided.
Every Farm Camp staff member has been CPR certified and has prior education experience, and staff participate in extensive training specific to Farm Camp that covers outdoor education techniques, inquiry-based learning, facilitating an open learning environment based on choice and free play, conflict resolution, handling issues of heat and inclement weather, emergency procedures, and cooking with kids. The Farm Camp Director oversees development and coordination of the Farm Camp program, and a Farm Camp Manager is seasonally hired to manage Farm Camp, supported by 5 experienced staff members during all weeks of camp and 6 seasonally hired counselors. The broader leadership team includes an Executive Director, operations and farm managers, outreach and education staff, on-farm education staff, market and community farm managers, a volunteer coordinator, a farmer trainer, and a nutriments manager.
Arcadia was established in 2010 and is a nonprofit organization rooted in the National Capital Region. Its mission states that Arcadia cultivates vibrant regional food systems that build the health of land, food, and communities from the farm forward, is grounded in equity and guided by history, and works on sustainable, just, and regenerative solutions to food access and food sovereignty. Arcadia’s work includes Mobile Markets, a suburban farm, veteran farmer training, school and community garden support, and the Route 1 Community Farm, and every federal nutrition benefit at the Mobile Markets is doubled.
Arcadia’s Visiting Educators are partners from across Virginia and DC who conduct sessions with Farm Campers. Arcadia has a landmark partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation for the Woodlawn Estate site and supports school and community gardens while opening gates at the Route 1 Community Farm where low-income and military families can grow and harvest their own food for free. Arcadia is dedicated to achieving racial equity by dismantling systemic barriers, promoting inclusivity, addressing racial injustices, and working towards equal access to opportunities, resources, and social justice, and staff members serve as co-chairs of the Fairfax Food Council and its Urban Agriculture Working Group.
A Farm Camp parent described the experience by saying they were impressed with the organization, the level of enthusiasm of the counselors, the creativity of the program, and how engaged their child was with the camp, calling it a fabulous experience and a home run.
Last updated January 18, 2026.
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